Where are we?
by Owls Down The Rabbit Hole
Summary: After some accident with England's magic, the Axis and Allies are stuck living with a stranger in Canada until they can figure out how to get back to the world where countries are actual people. GermanyxOC. probably a bit ooc
1. Chapter 1

This heat is too much. I don't know how I'm supposed to make it through the summer alive. I've finally graduated highschool, but the heat might be enough to kill me before I even get the chance to go to college. Oh well, that way I don't have to worry about my school work ever again.

I look back at the screen of my laptop. The words aren't flowing like any other day, usually I have a hard time keeping up with the words racing through my mind, but today... today they seem to want a vacation. I sigh and close the laptop, I head to the bathroom just down the hall from my room.

The cool water loosens me up a bit, makes it easier to think, as apposed to the grogginess I felt in the humidity of my bedroom. Hopefully I'll be able get over my writer's block after this shower. If not, I'll probably end up watching anime until late at night when words are always the most playful.

It's just a good thing this novel doesn't need to be finished before the end of the summer, with only two months of it, I'd be in complete chaos. No, I'm waiting another year before heading off to college. Not that I don't have any money and need to work to save up, of course not. My parents are filthy rich. They really don't treat that power very well, though. But I could get into college myself, with all the profit from my previous novels.

When I finally step out of the shower, I'm instantly hit by the heat again, with this humidity, it'll be hours before the long, black locks dangling from my head will be dry again, so I pull it all back and braid it. With the haircut I have, my bangs manage to stay out of the tangled braid and fall neatly around my face. I pull my shorts up to my waist after tossing on my underwear, then pull on the light orange tank top.

I head straight for my laptop, determined to get something added onto the story before the humidity takes over my mind again. I set my hands at the keyboard, but I realize something was out of place when I came into the room. I slowly turn in my chair, scanning the room for the disturbance.

There are two grown men standing in the middle of my room, both wearing different military uniforms. One blonde, and much taller than his friend, and the other and brown-and-red-headed guy. Though I don't really pay attention to those facts at first, only the fact that they are trespassing.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" I yell at them.

"No! Wait! This is just a mis-" The taller one tries to tell me.

"A mistake? Oh, are you trying to tell me you just accidentally walked in here, thinking it was your own home? 'Cause there aren't that many houses around here as big and fancy as this! So it's a bit hard to believe!"

"No! I wasn't trying to say that!" He says, I realize he has some kind of an accent. German? I think so. I'm not very good with accents.

"Wait, I know you," I've long ago figured out who they are, I'm just taking a bit too long to process it, "You're Germany. And you're Italy." I tell them, still not believing it myself.

"How do you know that?" Germany asks, just as dumbfounded as me.

"Well, if I knew personified countries were real, for sure, then it would be a bit obvious, just from your looks and accent alone. So, you _are_ the real thing?"

"Yes?"

"Ah, you know who I am?" Italy squeals with happiness.

"Of course! Who wouldn't know the one and only North Italy?" I smile back, flattering him a bit more than I intended, if I had even meant to at all, "How did you get here?"

"How do you know what we are?" Germany asks, completely ignoring my question.

"You should answer my question first!" I demand.

Germany pauses for a minute, trying to collect his thoughts, "I don't even remember most of what happened..."

"I do!" Italy cries out, trying to be helpful, "We were at America's house, I think it was America, and England tried some of his magic for some reason and we all went poof! Now we're here!" He explains, hand gestures included.

"That's right..." Germany says, his memories coming back to him.

"So where are the others?" I ask.

"I don't know," Italy shrugs.

"I wonder if it's possible they appeared some where else in on my property..." I head for the door, but Germany stops me.

"You didn't tell me how you know about us," he tells me.

"I'd rather only have to explain it once, how 'bout we find the others first?" I suggest, he nods and they both follow me into the hall, "Who else was with you?"

"Let's see..."

"Japan was there! And big brother France! Russia, America, China and that scary England!" Italy tells me.

"Alrighty then," I lead them down the grand staircase like it's found in any other house, they look at everything, stunned by the complexity and detail of my home. I honestly have no idea where to start looking first, so I head for the kitchen, I'd be drawn to the kitchen if I just appeared in some random place. That's where the food is kept. I would need food.

For a first guess, I was right on, as I reach to push the door open, I hear voices arguing inside.

"You wanker! You don't just eat other people's food without asking!" I hear one of them say in a British accent.

"Ugh, but I'm so hungry," A Frenchman replies, "And the pasta looks so appetizing!"

"Pasta?" Italy's attention is immediately caught and he bursts into the kitchen. Germany and I follow him.

"Italy! There you are! We were getting a bit worried!" France says as Italy runs in, searching for the pasta.

"Liar, you were only worried about your stomach." England tells us. I pull open a drawer and dig out a fork for Italy, then point out the container of left over pasta he was beginning to worry didn't exist.

"Ah, who is this?" France ignores England and is at my side a second later.

"Ebony." I tell him.

"Ah, such a beautiful name," He takes my hand and kisses it gently, in an attempt to charm me.

"France, you better behave yourself, this is probably her house," England tells him.

"Is it really all yours? It is so big! You must get very lonely sometimes," He gets closer to me, he's starting to freak me out a little, I'm surprised I've held myself together this long with so many guys around. Not to mention, they're also the guys that I'm almost constantly fan-girling over.

"No, it's my parents'. And I'm sure they'll be home any minute, by the way," That makes him back off a little, "So, where's Japan, America, China and Russia?"

"I don't know, we haven't seen them at all. Something tells me they're not in here, though."

"The backyard, then, maybe?" I continue through the kitchen, through the living room and through the patio door. The four boys follow me like lost puppies.

The last four are standing in the middle of my backyard, curiously looking around the yard. Wait, no, there's five. Who's the last one?

I approach the group swiftly, recognizing each of their faces. The fifth was, of course, Canada, the idiots completely forgot about him.

"There they are." Russia points out the four that follow me to his comrades.

"Who're you?" America asks me, I know he's just wondering, but it comes out a bit more rude than I think he intended.

"I'm Ebony. And you're America, right?" I already know the answer, but I have to be sure, it still hasn't sunk in quite yet...

"Y- Yeah." He looks at me, more confused than he probably ever has been before now.

"Speaking of that, how did you know?" Germany comes up behind me and asks the question again, this time much more stubbornly.

"I watch a show, and it's all about you guys!" I blurt out.

"Wow, really?" England says after a moment.

"See? I told you guys I'm the hero!. The hero always has his own show!" America laughs.

"It's not entirely about you, America, sorry to burst your bubble, but it's mostly about the Axis."

"I'm not in every episode then?"

"Nope."

"Well that's gotta be one boring show!" America huffed.

"Actually, I find it really funny. I'll show you guys, if you want." I suggest. They all agree quickly, eager to see the anime solely based off them and their friends.

I place the disc I bought with the first of my profits from my books into the DVD player, the boys arrange themselves on the couch. Once most of them are squished together on the sofa, I'm stuck sitting on the loveseat next to them with Germany.

As we watch the first episode, where Germany and Italy first meet, I can't help but only stare at them.

"Is that really us?" Germany asks, he's having as hard of a time believing it as me.

"Is that what really happened?" I wonder.

"Yes."

"Then I guess it must be." I say, I think it was a bit rude, the way I said it, but it was definatly not on purpose, Germany's always been one of my favourites, I wouldn't want to hurt his feelings.

Wait, Germany, Ludwig Beilschmidt, is sitting right next to me. One of my all time favourite characters.

I nervously curl up in a ball, resting my chin on my knees, as I glance at Germany every once in a while. He seems fixated on the television. Which is good, if he tries to strike up a conversation with me, I'm going to be screwed. He'll think I'm annoying, or stupid, or useless, or annoying...

What the hell am I supposed to do now?


	2. Chapter 2

It's a good thing my parents have always been the 'good Samaritan' kind of people, saying "your friends can stay as long as they need to." If I had to kick them out, I probably would have died. The only thing is, there's so many of them that we don't have enough spare rooms ready for occupants right at the moment. So they have to sleep in our backyard, in tents, until tomorrow when the maid can fix up a few extra rooms. As for extra clothes, since they'll probably need to change after at least a couple days, my mom suggests we go through my brother's old clothes. He just got up and left, one day, leaving all of his crap behind.

I take the group of boys up to his room, where everything lays completely untouched by my parents. It's as if he went missing or something, like on TV when a child goes missing, the parents never change a thing in their room. He keeps in touch, he's come home for holidays, though. My parents are just weird, thinking he'll want to come back here permanently. I wouldn't. He's twenty-one anyway, at that age, I _definatly _ wouldn't want to.

I tell them, "Pick out some clothes and try them on, hopefully they fit you all well enough. I'll be.. uh, in my room." I finish awkwardly as they start pulling off their shirts like there was no one around, and hurry down the hall to my room, slamming the door behind me.

Italy's the first one to find enough clothes, and meets me in my room.

"So we get to go camping?" Italy asks excitedly. I nod and he begins dancing around in happiness, "Ve~ this is going to be so much fun! We can have a campfire! And make s'mores! And sleep in sleeping bags! And Ebony's going to camp with us, right?" He grabs my arm, anticipating my answer.

"Sure, I guess." I agree, but this is going to be weird, having to sleep in a tent with a bunch of guys.

Once they all have their new clothes and are completely dressed again, I get them to follow me to the basement to help me carry out three of our tents, as many blankets, sleeping bags and mattresses as we'll need, and the sticks for roasting marshmallows. We find a good place in the backyard for the tents, we won't be too far from the house, but still close enough to our fire pit.

Everyone knows how to put up some kind of a tent, so I don't have to instruct them while we put them up, it goes really quickly because of it. It's a great change from what I'm used to.

"Ebony, you're going to sleep in _my_ tent, right?" Italy asks me once the tents are up.

"Sure. Why not?"

"Great! And Germany will, too!" He exclaims, not even thinking to make sure it's okay with Germany, I don't think he would decline, anyway.

"Yo, Japan, you're gonna sleep in our tent, 'kay, dude?" America approaches Japan with his arm wrapped around England's shoulder.

"Alright. That sounds fine to me." He agrees. This leaves Russia, China, France and Canada to share the last tent. We blow up the mattresses, set them in the tents and lay out the blankets and pillows on them.

Even though the sun is just starting to set now, we pile the fire wood in the pit and get a warm blaze going. It's starting to cool down now, being around the fire isn't as bad as I thought it might be.

"Here, have a marshmallow!" Italy holds out the bag for me to take one. I pick one out and grab a roasting stick as I walk by. I take the spot on the bench next to him, separating him from Germany, who was already annoyed by the camp ready Italy.

"Aren't you going to make a s'more?" I ask Germany when I realize he doesn't have a marshmallow or a stick.

"No, I'm alright." He tells me sternly.

"Aaawe, come on! They're so yummy. Look, I'll even make it for you if you want." I grab another stick and a marshmallow from Italy, I slide the marshmallow onto the stick.

"No, I'll make it myself," He grins slightly at my determination and takes the stick from me.

"He-e-ey, does anybody know a scary story? You need those at every campfire, right?" Italy asks.

"Oh, I know a pretty good one," England says, the others nod in encouragement, "Alright. There once was a couple in Scotland who had just moved into an old castle. It wasn't long after they moved that they decided to empty out the wine cellar. There they found a large barrel of brandy. They tried moving it and even got a few friends to help, but they couldn't budge it. In the end, they decided to have a housewarming party and give glasses of brandy out to empty the barrel and make it easier to move. A few days after the party, they went back to the cellar and tried to move the barrel again. It still wouldn't move. The husband decided to use his saw to order cut it into smaller pieces, they cut off the top of the barrel, and inside was a dead body and they had drank the brandy that had preserved it." *

"Waaah, that was sca-a-a-ary!" Italy whines.

"Are you kidding me? That was nothing!" America says.

"Oh, really? Fine, then you tell a scarier one!" England tells him.

"No! You don't need to! It's okay!" Italy cries.

"Okay, I will!" America begins his story, "One day I was outside with my best friend at like eleven-thirty pm when we saw a van drive up right next to us. The guy stopped and looked like he was tweekin' or something. We got all freaked out and started walking back to my friend's house. The guy pulled up to my friend's driveway, so we started running. He started to get out of the van and we noticed that he had an ice pick in his left hand."

"No-o-o-o! Sto-o-o-op! This is sca-a-ary!" Italy cries.

"You're the one that asked for the stories!" France tells him.

"So we started screaming and luckily my friend's dad was still up and workin' late in his garage, so he opened the garage and tackled the weirdo! He held him there until the police showed up. The cops told us that we were, like, really lucky because we were the only ones to make it out of the six people he's tried the same thing on."

"That's so creepy!" China says.

"Did that really happen to you?" Japan asks, looking genuinely curious.

"Yeah, man, of course!" America says, though he's totally lying.

"There's no way that really did happen!" England says.

"Yeah, it did!"

"Oh, really? What was the man's name?"

"I don't know! I was way too busy talking to the cops, duh!"

I tune out the boys bickering on the bench across from me, my marshmallow is a perfect golden brown, so I slip it off after wedging it between two crackers, then stick a chunk of chocolate in the middle. I'm about to take a bite but notice Germany's marshmallow isn't in very good condition.

"Germany, your marshmallow is on fire." I tell him.

"Crap, is it really?" He wonders, he pulls it out of the fire to see that it's true. He swings it up closer to our faces and we both blow on it, extinguishing the flames. He grumbles at his marshmallow as he grabs two crackers and a piece of chocolate.

"If you don't like burnt ones, you can just throw it into the fire," I tell him.

"No, we shouldn't be wasting food," he replies.

"Well, we can switch. I like them either way."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I don't really care," I take the s'more from him, replacing it with the perfect one I had made. I bite into it, it's just as good as any other one, warm and ooey-gooey, but still crunchy on the outside, with melting chocolate.

"This is really good, thank you, Ebony," He tells me after his s'more is half gone.

"That's good, I'd hate to have given you a crappy one," I smile at him.

"How do you do this so well?"

"You toast it over the coals, or above the flame, but not, like right above it, or else it'll catch fire." Germany nods and replies with "Oh."

"I have a question," Russia says, everyone stops immediately to hear what he has to say, "How are we going to get home?"

"I don't know, it doesn't seem that we're even in the same universe," England says after a few seconds of silence.

"Well, we can't say that for sure. Not many people in your countries knew that there was a personified version of their homes, right?" I ask.

"Yes, but I've never heard of that 'Hetalia' show," Japan interjects.

"That's right, Japan, dude! So, we _must_ have been transported to a different universe!" America concludes.

"First of all, can you guys not talk to each other using your country names, my parents will think there's something up and can you please tell me exactly what happened before you came here?" I ask, "'Cause I'm the only one that doesn't know."

"Certainly, we were at America's house for a meeting. It was your house, right, America?" England begins.

"No way!" America says.

"Actually, you were all at my house," Canada's quiet voice tells us, "By the way, Ebony, what's your address?" I tell him where the house was built, "That's what I thought, it's the exact same lot where my home was built."

"So, we definatly are in a different universe," France mumbles.

"Anyway, Canada, then, was telling me about something that was haunting his house, or something. It had spoken to him a few times and he was getting scared by it. So, he asked me if I could figure out what it was and what it wanted. I set everything up perfectly, or so I thought..." He trailed off but pulled himself out of his trance of memories after a moment, "Something went wrong, everything was set up perfectly, I know it was, every time I go over it in my head, everything was there. I don't know what went wrong." England slaps his forehead into his hands, we can't see him face anymore, but I know he's a bit angry with himself.

"Do you know if your magic works here?" Japan asks after a moment.

"No, I don't think it does, at least not well. I can still sense things, and what I sense is that I can't use it."

"We'll figure something out, don't worry." I assure him, though I have no clue what we're going to do.

We finally decide to put out the fire and go to bed, which is after almost two bags of marshmallows have been used up. Using our flashlights and the light from the moon, we steadily make our way back to our tents. Tonight is a nice night, no clouds in sight and all the stars that can be seen over the light pollution from our town make the sky beautiful. There aren't as many stars as I've seen in the country, but in the city, there is far less stars than what can be seen in our town.

I knew it was going to be a nice night without rain, so we left the covers off the tents, when we crawl into our sleeping bags, we can see all the stars twinkling brightly above us.

The three of us, mostly Italy and I, start talking about all the different constellations we can see, and some of their stories, but Italy falls asleep soon after we crawl into the tent.

"Thank you for letting us stay here, Ebony," Germany says when we realize Italy has fallen asleep, "I doubt the others will thank you..."

"It's no problem, I couldn't really kick you out onto the street without beating myself up for it."

"Why not?"

"Were you not watching the television earlier? You guys are the characters, well, some of them, from my favourite show. If I'd let you just walk out, I probably would have admitted myself to an insane asylum. If I didn't, my friend definatly would."

"Oh, well, thank you, anyway..."

"What's actually like... just, like, being you."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know... What's it like at the world meetings, training with Italy and Japan, fighting with Prussia, all that. What's it like being Germany?" I wonder.

He sighs, unsure what exactly to say, "It's very hectic at times, Italy and Prussia can really get on my nerves, without even trying, too."

"But you have fun, don't you?" It was more like a statement than a question.

He paused, "Yes." I smile at his answer and fall asleep with it still on my face.

*this is where I got the "scary" stories from, by the way, and please review! :3

/scary_


	3. Chapter 3

"Ebony, you're graduation party is tomorrow, you remember that, right?" I'm sitting in the kitchen with my mom, Germany, Italy, England and America. It's been a few days since our little camping "trip," and all the boys have had comfortable nights in their own beds, except probably Germany, because I know Italy ventured into his bed at least once so far.

"Is it really?" I count the days on my fingers. That sounds right, "Yay, I'm so excited." I'm not, really.

"Good, I am, too. Every one can't wait to see you, and Evin said he'd be coming." She says.

That catches my interest, Evin's my older brother, until recently, when he left, we didn't get along very well, just like any other pair of siblings, I guess. But when he started getting ready to leave, we somehow got closer, I'm not even sure how it happened, it just did. "Really?"

"Mhm, and I hope all your friends will be present," She was referring to all our new guests, where else would they go during it? "And is Heather coming, as well?"

"No, she wanted to, but her parents decided they would surprise her with a little trip, just for graduating. She'll be back in a few weeks or something like that."

"Oh, that's too bad, I hope she has fun, anyway," Mom stands up and set her empty mug in the sink, "Alright, I'm off. Stay out of trouble." She kisses my forehead, ignoring my protests.

"Graduation party?" England asks after mom has left.

"Yeah, I graduated highschool a few weeks ago," I tell him.

"Isn't it a bit late to be having your party?" He wonders.

"My parents were too busy around the night I actually graduated, couldn't open up their schedules a bit for me, it's really a miracle they made it to the ceremony," I grumble, "Then they insisted we still have a party three weeks later. Ugh, I _really_ don't want to do this." I hide my face with my arms on the counter.

"It won't be that bad, Ebony! We'll be there!" Italy tries to cheer me up.

"Yeah, but so will the rest of my family. I'll have to talk to them more than I will to you."

"You'll still have fun, Ebony, don't worry." Italy smiles at me.

The violet evening gown my mother picked out for me is finally being put to use. Too bad I don't like it. The neckline is too low, the straps are too thin, and it's too plain. But she insisted I wear it.

I curl my hair a bit around the ends, then spray it with my can of hairspray I never use. I attach a pair of gold hoops to my ear lobes, and clip a necklace around my neck. I don't bother putting on the make-up mom bought for tonight, I wouldn't know how to apply it anyway.

As I leave my room, I bump into Germany, on his way downstairs. He looks me up and down, taking in the sight of me in a dress.

"What? Have you never seen a girl dressed up for a party she doesn't want to attend?" I ask grumpily.

"You'll be fine. I'll try to keep close to you, or at least make sure one of the others is."

"There's only so much you can do, Ludwig."

He chuckles, puts his arm around my shoulders and leads me towards the staircase. The others are already waiting at the bottom of the stairs. I know that some of my relatives have already arrived, but there's only a few gathered in the living room.

"Ebony! You look so pretty!" Italy exclaims as he meets us at the bottom of the stairs. All the boys are dressed up in my brother's old dress clothes, except America and Canada who had to make do with jeans since Evin only had so many dress pants.

"I didn't think so..." I say.

"Don't kid yourself, he's right." England agrees with Italy.

"Yeah, he is," Canada says.

"Thanks," I say shyly, I'm not used to this many compliments.

The doorbell rings, so I hurry over to open the door. Before me stands my older brother. He's still taller than me, a bit more tanned than me and always much more confident.

"Evin!" I squeal and jump on him for a hug.

"Hey, Ebony. Long time, no see." He grins as he puts me back down, "Good job actually graduating. Wasn't sure if you could actually do it." He teases me.

"Hey, you might be able to beat me up in a second, but we both know I could outsmart you any day." I tell him.

"That's true," He steps into the house, passing me, I shut the door behind him. He notices the group of boys around the bottom of the stairs, "Who're they? All your boyfriends? How's that possible?" I shove his arm playfully.

"A few of my friends, they're staying here for a while."

"I wouldn't be able to imagine how, but okay, what are their names, then?"

"This is Ludwig Beilschmidt, Feliciano Vargas, Arthur Kirkland, Alfred Jones, Matthew Williams, Francis Bonnefoy, Ivan Braginski, Wang Yao, and Kiku Honda. This is my brother, Evin" They exchange a few awkward hellos before Evin decides to carry on.

"Well, I probably won't be able to remember any of those, just letting you know now. Where's mom?" He asks.

"In the kitchen."

"'Kay, I'll see you later." Evin smiles and walks away, towards the kitchen.

"He didn't know who we are?" Germany says.

"No," I turn away from the direction my brother went to, and back to the group of my new friends, "He never got into anime like I did." I say a bit regretfully.

I spend most of the next hour by the door, awaiting all the guests arrivals, not that I'm awaiting them by choice. I see most of my relatives within that time. And I have to say, I have quite a few relatives that I just don't like. The boys disperse after a while, leaving me alone with Ludwig, who is keeping his promise from earlier. Plus, I think it's the only reason he has to keep Italy from dragging him through the crowd.

The servers from the catering business mom hired pass by us quite a bit, and I think every time, I grab a glass of wine from them. After about the seventh glass, Germany decides to intervene.

"Ebony, I think you've had enough wine," He says.

"Ludwig, I don't think any amount of wine could be enough tonight," I say as I tip the contents of my glass into the mouth.

"I don't care, you need to stop if you don't want to make a fool out of yourself."

"Psh, I'm not trying to impress any of these people," I tell him, "I don't even care if I get a hangover tomorrow. I don't want to remember it at all."

I have a few more, after ignoring all his protests. Then a few more, he tries to take the glasses away from me. Then a few more, he yells at the servers for continuing to walk by here and letting me take the glasses. A few more later and I'm clinging onto his sleeve, I'm not completely drunk, I can still think, I'm just naturally a bit of a clutz and that much alcohol doesn't help.

No one else is going to be arriving, so I grab Ludwig's hand and drag him up the stairs, back to my room. I stumble over my heels a couple times, but I don't fall.

"Ebony, what are you doing? You should be downstairs. It's your party, after all." He says as I kick off my shoes and jump onto my bed.

"Ugh, who cares about the damn party?" I grumble, "I graduated highschool. Woo. We all knew it would happen."

Germany stands near my door for a while, he can't decide what to do, leave me, staring up at my ceiling, or force me to join the party.

"Come sit, Germany." I giggle and pat the mattress next to me, though I stay laying down. He sighs, but joins me on the edge of my bed, "You might as well make yourself comfortable, I don't think I'll be leaving for a while."

He rolls his eyes, but takes off his own shoes and swings his feet onto the bed. He leans against the head board, so I crawl over the sheets and rest beside him. I rest my head on his shoulder and close my eyes contently.

"Why do you hate your family so much? They seem like perfectly acceptable people." He asks after a minute.

"I don't hate them, they're just … way too materialistic. They're all spoiled brats. I mean, I like how easy it would be to get pretty much whatever I want. But we don't use that all the time. Everyone else does."

"We?"

"Evin and I." He doesn't say anything in response, not that there's much to say, so I curl up to him again and wrap my arm around his shoulders, I feel him tense up, and even more so when a huge grin stretches across my face and I say, "I love you, Ludwig."

"I think that's the alcohol talking?" He states, I shrug, it's possible. But I _do _like him, he's one of my favourite characters for a reason, "Maybe we could go downstairs-" I cut him off quickly with a kiss, when we part, he says, "That's definatly the alcohol, let's go." He begins to stand up but I pull him back to the bed.

"Come on, I know you want to kiss me," I stick out my tongue, he's right, I'm definatly drunk. But that gives me even more reason to stay away from the guests.

"I'm not taking advantage of a drunk girl," He tells me.

"It's not taking advantage of me if we're just kissing!"

"Still..."

"Aaaawe, is Luddy in love with some one?" I ask in a baby-ish voice, "Is it Italy? Or Prussia? Or maybe Austria?"

"No way!"

"Good, I'd hate to steal you away from one of them." I say as I lean in to kiss him again. He doesn't object, doesn't even pull himself away slightly. In fact, when I _do_ pull away, he kisses me again.

"_Ebony_," I hear a whisper. I first, I think it is Germany, but he's kissing me, he can't speak that clearly. And there was no accent. I push him away gently and look around for the culprit.

"Ebony?"

I shush him up quickly, "Didn't you hear something a second ago? It said my name."

"Are you sure? I didn't hear anything."

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"_Ebony,_"

"There it is again!" I gasp.

"I didn't hear it..."

"_Are we friends now?_" The voice asks. I cling to Germany's side, I'm absolutely terrified.

"It asked me if we're friends now." After I say that, my window clatters open and I squeal in surprise. Germany hurries over to shut it, though I let go of him very reluctantly, "Okay, I'm ready to go back downstairs."

**/ Thanks to every one for all the faves and reviews and actually reading it, on that note; keep reviewing! /**


	4. Chapter 4

"Germany, why is it so ho-o-ot?" I whine. I'm splayed across the couch, my head resting on Germany's lap as we watch _Paint It White_. As much as I love the movie, I can't pay attention through the heat. Italy sits on the loveseat with Japan. England and China joined us at some point, the others are wandering around my property as if it is their own, doing their own thing, just like they all have been pretty much since they came here.

"I don't know, Ebony," He sighs. Evin enters the living room, watching the TV curiously. It's only a couple days after my graduation party, he's agreed to stay for a while, I haven't seen him since Christmas, and that was pretty brief.

"What are you watching?" He asks.

"Anime," I tell him.

"Again? Is that all you do? Watch anime?" He asks as he sits down at my feet, no longer paying attention to the show.

"No, I obviously spend some of my time writing, duh."

"Whatever," He shrugs, "Is it just me or is it really frickin' hot?"

"You think it's _hot_? I'm absolutely freezing!" I say to him sarcastically, he glares at me in my tank top and the shortest short I have.

"Well, smart one, what are we gonna do about it?" He asks, it's beginning to feel just like it was before he moved out.

"I dunno..."

"We should go to the beach!" Italy interrupts. I frown slightly, that might not be a bad idea, actually it's a great idea!

"Yeah! Let's go to the beach!" I jump up.

"Ugh, I don't want to drive," Evin groans and throws his head back against the couch.

"Uhm, hello! I can drive!" I exclaim, "Okay! Let's go!" I skip over to the DVD player and turn it off, then peel the lazier boys from the couch.

As we walk out of the living room, Evin whispered, "Is it just me, or do they look like the people in your anime?" My eyes widen, but I pretend I didn't hear him.

On the way out, we grab a bunch of towels, sunscreen, shovels and buckets, goggles, a couple of umbrellas for shade and the rest of our gang. We cram into my mom's van, the boys have to squish together in the backseat, but we're not driving very far.

We arrive at the beach, the sun beaming down even hotter than a few minutes ago. I peel off my sticky-with-sweat shirt, to reveal my new bikini I was changed into right before we left.

"Do you really have to wear a bikini?" Evin asks as he pulls off his own shirt.

"You're just jealous you're not as good looking as me," I tell him, though I think it's a total lie, "Besides, it's a bit late now."

After the boys pile their own shirts next to our towels we laid out on the sand, I make sure they all have sunscreen covering them. Then we head for the cool water splashing across the shore.

I grab my favourite orange pail from when I was a child on the way to the water. I scoop up a litre of water as I trample through the waves after the guys. Even though the air is boiling, the water is almost as cold as an ice cube.

I sneak up behind Germany, lifting the pail higher than my head, the others begin chuckling, and I dump the whole bucket on his head. He yells in surprise and turns around to face me. At first, he doesn't do anything, just wipes the chilly water from his face, but then a grin spreads across his face and he picks me up. I squeal and squirm in his arms, but he's too strong for me to get away. He carries me away, deeper into the water, then drops me into the freezing cold water. But not before I gulp in a breath of air, so once I'm completely emerged, I keep myself under. I swim back to Germany and pull his feet out from under him.

He topples into the water next to me. I grin at him when he opens his eyes, then swim away as quickly as I can just to get away from him, but then I start attacking our friends as I come to them. First, I take down China, France is next, I avoid Russia, then I find England. America, Canada, Japan then Italy are in the water after us, and Evin is last.

I jet back to shore before they all rise out of the water, and rest on the sand, letting the waves catch me every few seconds. They look around for me for a minute before realizing I made it to the shore. When they do, I run to our towels, I grab the plastic beach ball and blow it up as I run back out to them. The ball is about the length of one of my arms, so it's big, and super fun for playing with at the beach.

I toss the ball to Canada, he tosses it over to his brother and we start hitting it around our circle we plenty of wipe outs, headbutts, collisions and interceptions. I'm laughing the entire time. After a while of this, our little group sadly dissipates, I'm left continuing the game with just Germany and Italy, but Italy leaves us soon after the others to build a sandcastle. Eventually, I get tired of just tossing it back between us and try floating around on the ball, who doesn't do that every time they get the chance?

"What are you doing?" Germany watches me curiously.

"I'm a boat," I say and kick my feet to propel myself through the water.

"What...?"

I giggle as I swim farther and farther away from him. He chases after me, but I loose my balance, since it's so easy to do, and tumble back into the water. When I surface, the ball has floated quite a ways away from me, I go fetch it and run back to Germany.

"What am I going to do with you..." He chuckles.

I giggle and reply, "Love me forever 'cause I'm just that awesome." He continues to smile at me, so I reach up on my tippy-toes and kiss him. I guess he wasn't expecting that right now, because when I do he jumps away.

"Uhm, your brother is right over there," He tells me, pointing towards Evin.

"I'm aware."

"Isn't _that_ a little inappropriate?"

"Whatever, it's not like he's never kissed a girl in front of me before," He just shrugs in response, "Come on," I grab his wrist and pull him back to shore where Italy is building a sand castle, "Hey, Feli! Can we help?" I ask as I run over to Italy.

"Sure! That would be great!" His face brightens immediately and he puts us to work. For the next hour, we kneel in the sand, perfecting Italy's castle.

As we work, I watch what the others are doing. Canada sits on his towel for most of the time, unless he's playing in the water with his older brother. France is laying on his own towel, checking out and nodding in approval at all the girls in bikinis that walk by. England sits a yard or so away from him, yelling at France after each girl walks by.

When we're finished, it stands almost as high as my hips! With a moat, drawbridge and all the other accessories!

I run to grab my camera from my bag, "Hey, Evin!" I call my brother over and shove the camera into his hands. I bounce over to Germany and Italy. We pose around the castle, I have my arms wrapped around their necks and Evin clicks the button.

4 - 4 - 4 - 4 - 4 - 4 - 4 - 4 - 4 - 4 - 4 - 4 - 4 - 4 - 4 - 4 - 4

I'm dreaming, I know that much, but I'm in my room, exactly as it should be. There's nothing weird about it. I'm waiting for something to come and scare the crap out of me.

At first, I don't hear it, but there's a rasping sound, it sounds like a voice saying my name. And it's in my room. I sit up in my bed, surveying the room.

"You'll be my friend, right?" I hear the voice say.

I gasp and look to the right of my bed where a figure is leaning up against the wall. I pinch myself, just to be sure. But I'm not actually dreaming.

"Be my friend," It says. I squeak in terror and inch closer to the opposite side of my bed.

"I think we'll be great friends." It tells me.

I flick the switch on my lamp, and glance back at the wall. There's no one standing there. Not even anything resembling a person.

I exhale shakily, reach for my house coat and tie it around my body, then run out the door. I head straight for the stairs, where I can see a light on just below, coming from the living room.

Germany is sitting on the couch, intently watching the television which plays _Paint It White!_

"Ludwig, what are you doing up so late?" I ask as I step towards the couch. I startled him, but he recovers easily.

"I could ask you the same."

"I... had a... bad dream," I plop down beside him. He puts his arm around my shoulder protectively.

"It was just a dream," He pulls me onto his lap and I hug him tightly.

He kisses my forehead gently when I answer, "Yeah, just a dream..."

**Sorry it was a bit short, guys, xD **

**And soorry that Russia and China haven't made much of an appearance... why did I even include them if I can't work with their characters? o.e**


	5. Chapter 5

I keep my eyes closed, though I know it's morning and I ought to get up, but I'm too comfortable where I am, curled up with Germany on the couch because neither of us wanted to return to our rooms last night.

I hear whispering coming from behind the couch. I don't bother sitting up, since I know it's probably just the other countries.

"Wake up, love birds!" I hear America's voice yell almost right above me. Germany jumps awake, I was expecting something like that to happen, I look up at America with an annoyed expression.

"_D__ésolé_, we couldn't really stop him," France says.

"Whatever, you didn't even try," I say. England nods to agree it's true as he follows America back into the kitchen. I twist my neck to look up at Germany, he's rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, like an adorable little kid, might I add. He yawns, then notices I'm watching him."Good morning."

"_Guten morgen_."He says, I giggle and he smirks at me, then leans down to kiss me. I kiss him back, but pull away after a moment.

"I..." I begin, then jump off the couch, "Am hungry!" And head to the kitchen. I hear him chuckle, and get off the couch to follow me.

I place a box of cereal and the carton of milk on the counter, then grab a bowl. The others have already helped themselves, England is drinking his usual tea. France has the stove. And America seems to be waiting for his burgers to be finished in the oven. I don't bother trying to make him eat a healthier breakfast today.

"Is Italy not up yet?" I ask after seeing every other single guest in the kitchen.

"Nah, it's still too early for him to even think about getting up," England states.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," I say as I pour out the cereal into my bowl. Germany sighs and starts for the door, "Just let him be, Germany. It's not like he's late for training."

"We _should_ be training." Germany says, but takes a seat on one of the stools next to me.

"Well, go right ahead and start your training sessions. Tomorrow."

England clears his throat, I look over at him, slightly annoyed, "Have something you would like to say?"

"Yes," He begins, "I think I figured out what went wrong with my magic when we were transported here." He announces, but doesn't continue.

"All right. Please elaborate," I tell him.

"Well, last night, I remembered seeing some one appear right before I began. Literally, right before. They changed a part of my circle, but I'm not sure what they did."

"Like a ghost?" I ask genuinely. They all look at me as though I'm crazy.

"Yes, it looked like a ghost."

"Awe, you were probably just seeing things again." America teases.

"No, continue," I say to them, "Did it look like a girl?"

"I... don't remember too well. It could have been a girl. It looked like a dress it was wearing, but it could have easily been a robe or something else..."

"Dark hair and pale?"

"Yes... How do you know?" England wonders.

"Is that what your dream was about last night?" Germany wonders.

I nod, "Yeah, she just appeared and started asking me if we would be friends. I think she's also the one that was talking to me the other night at my party."

"She was asking you, too?" I hear Canada's soft voice, for once, the others acknowledge it.

"Yeah, was she talking to you?"

"Yes, well, while I did in our home world. She hasn't spoken to me since we came here. It's the thing that I asked England to check out for me with his magic."

"Magic?" I hear Evin's voice come from the doorway. I spin around to see him standing there with a look of confusion on his face, "England?" He asks after he running through Canada's sentence in his head.

"Yes?" England's head snaps up from his tea cup – he seems to have forgotten Evin is the only one in the dark with their situation.

"What...?" He looks to me, so puzzled it seems impossible.

"Uhm, you know that anime I always watch. I think I tried to explain it to you once," I begin to explain.

"The one about the countries?"

"Yeah, well, these are the Allied Forces and the Axis Powers."

"Like from history class?"

"Exactly."

"Okay," He nods, "How?"

"Well, England can do magic, and he accidentally brought them to our world. In their world, Canada, Matthew, lives here. On this property."

He inhales, taking the information in, as well, I guess it's a bit harder to believe when your life isn't based upon the impossible and anime.

"So which one is he?" Evin nods to Germany.

I grab his arm protectively, "He's Germany." I would have thought it would be obvious with the accent and all.

"All right, but you better not let anything happen to her," Evin tells him, "Though you should do that anyway." Germany nods.

"You don't have to worry."

"All right, then," Evin walks into the kitchen further, watching Germany and I out of the corner of his eye as he passes. He grabs a bowl from the cupboard and joins me where the cereal is, "So, do you want to explain to me exactly what you were talking about?"

"Okay," I tell him everything we know so far, the other add comments every once in a while, but I get the story across to him rather quickly.

"So, now you're trying to help them get back home, that's why they're staying here?" He asks when I finish.

"Yeah, and after last night, it seems like me and this house are the key."

"Well, have fun figuring it out," He grinned at me.

A few days later, Evin finally left, so we decided to celebrate. Okay, that's a lie, I was pretty sad to see him off. But he has a job, besides, he promised to come back before the boys left, and to call him if we figure out how to get them back home.

Anyway, celebration, we decided to go back to the beach, since the heat wave hasn't disappeared just yet. We gathered up our things from the first trip, and repacked ourselves in the van.

After playing in the water for a while, I help Italy make another sand castle, since the last one has been destroyed, England asks if he can help, too. Surprisingly, he and Italy have been getting along well since they arrived here.

I run to grab another pail from the beach bag I brought when I hear someone yelling my name a little ways down the shore. I look up at the source. My least favourite person in the world. My ex-boyfriend. Dean.

I try to pretend not to hear him, I stand to return to England and Italy but he comes running across the sand and stops me before I reach them.

"Ebony, why're you ignoring me?" He asks, doesn't even open with a greeting, "I've been texting you and calling you."

"I haven't been using my phone lately, I have other things to do," I say, though it's somewhat a lie, I _have_ been ignoring him.

"Oh, well, I found you."

"Yay. I'm so happy," I say sarcastically.

"I bet you are. I bet you've missed me so-o-o much." He steps closer to me, I try to move away, but his hand grabs my arm, keeping me in place.

"No, I haven't. I don't want to talk to you ever again."

"Awe, you're just saying that because you're mad."

"Really? Mad? Why would you _ever_ think _that_?" I ask, again, sarcastically. Of course I'm mad at him. He cheated on me.

"Look, I know, you're jealous of Makayla, but we're over. I want you."

"Right. You should have thought of that a few months ago."

Italy jumps out from behind me, scaring the both of us, "Hey, Ebony, is this one of your friends?"

"Yeah, I'm her boyfriend. Now who are you?" Dean says before I can reply, putting his arm around my neck, it feels so wrong and disgusting.

"But I thought you and..." Italy points at me, then at Germany in confusion.

"No, we're not, Feli, I'd never date _him_." I push Dean away from me.

"Feli?"

"Feliciano." I tell the idiot.

"What the hell kind of a girl's name is that?" He laughs.

"It's not a girl's name! It's Italian. Not that you'd be smart enough to know where Italy is."

"Hey, what's going on over there?" England asks from where he's kneeling next to the sand castle.

"Nothing, Arthur!" I call back.

"Arthur?" Dean skips over to Arthur and the castle, "That's such a nerdy name." He laughs as he stomps on the sand castle we had been working on for almost half an hour.

"Leave him alone, Dean!" I yell and follow him over to the ruined castle. At this point, everyone else is climbing out of the water and rushing over to see what's happening.

"Who is this guy, Ebony?" Germany asks as he arrives on the scene.

"He's just my ex-boyfriend," I sigh.

"Is this why you won't take me back? All these guys? Are you screwing them all?" He laughs, unbelieving, "Wow, you little slut!"

In an instant, Germany has him pinned on the ground, his hand wrapped around Derek's neck, "Don't ever say that about Ebony! She-"

"Ludwig! Stop! You're going to choke him to death!" I scream at Germany. He backs off at my word, leaving Dean laying on the ground gasping for air. Once he's recovered and about to spring up and attack Germany, I kneel down next to him.

"Any one of these guys could kill you with a flick of the wrist," _Except probably Italy,_ I think, and I know the others are probably thinking it, too, "Believe me. So, I'd behave if I were you. You're lucky I pity you too much and won't let them hurt you right now. Because you deserve it." I stand next to him as he gets up and begins walking away.

"Whatever," He says, adding an obscene name and gesture as he continues down the beach. I don't turn back to the countries surrounding me. I can already feel their eyes on me.

"You dated that guy?" America is the first one to speak.

I sigh, "Before he was a jerk."

"It's hard to believe he wasn't always," England says as they watch Dean stumbling down the beach.

I'm curled up on the couch next to Germany, the others have already gone to bed after our long day at the beach. We're watching some movie that Italy picked out, but we're not really watching it now that he's asleep.

"So, what are we going to do when we figure out how to get you guys home?" I wonder.

"I don't know," He answers, "I could always stay here..."

"No, you're Germany, you need to go back," I sigh, "But I was thinking, I could always go with you. Bring all of my novels and just re-publish them, then just continue with the ones I haven't finished a little while after."

"What about your parents?"

"Oh, they'll be fine without me. They won't even really notice my absence."

"Your brother will."

"You only asked about my parents," I groan, "You're right, though. Well, if England can get us back, he could always accompany us on a trip back here once in a while. If not, Evin'll understand, right? He'll have to."

"I'm sure he will," Germany smiles, reassuring me and making me feel a bit better. He leans down and kisses me, making me instantly feel certain it'll be all right.

But I hear it again not a minute later. A faint whisper that grows louder and louder. Germany hears it too, this time. He's on his feet a second later. We scan the room and see the girl standing behind the couch I'm sitting on. She's looking straight at me, completely ignoring Germany. He pulls me off the couch and pushes me behind him, turning himself into a barrier between the ghost and I.

"Are you going to be my friend, Ebony?" The ghost asks. Germany is pushing me further back, until I trip over the coffee table and fall to the ground.

The ghost begins advancing slowly towards us, "Don't come anywhere near her!" Germany shouts at her. She rips her gaze away from me to look at Germany, a second later, he is thrown across the room into the wall next to the television set.

"Ludwig!" I scream and reach for him.

"Friends. Don't you want to be friends?" The ghost asks again. I look between her and Germany, he has managed to prop himself up on his elbow, but he's holding a part of his forehead and I can see a small stream of blood dripping down his face from where he must have hit the TV stand, "I want to have a friend. I want to be your friend."

At that moment, it comes to me, what will solve this problem. It's so simple, I can't believe it didn't come to me sooner.

"Yes, I'll be your friend."


	6. Chapter 6

"Ebony! What are you doing?" Germany yells at me, but that hurt him too much, he grasps his forehead again, the head wound is making him unstable and dizzy. I have to ignore him for now.

"What's your name?" I ask the ghost. She smiles at me, absolutely delighted by the turn of events.

"Audra," Her eyes are tearing up in her happiness. She starts glowing it's almost unnoticeable at first, she glows brighter and I have to shield my eyes.

I see a girl sitting in a field all by herself. She watches a bunch of other kids playing, but none of them bother to call her over, even though they all see her. She sits alone, beneath a tree, weaving things out of the long grass around her.

The girl is before me once again, a few years older than what she was when she was ignored in the field. She's in town, retrieving groceries from the store with her mother. They're both forced to wear large sun hats to keep the hot rays from the sun off their faces. The girl is carrying the majority of their rations, but her mother drops what she has in her arms and falls to the ground with them.

Now the girl is at a funeral, holding a small painting of her mother as a casket is lowered into the ground of the cemetery.

She's a few years older, her father is stomping around her, yelling at her for something she hadn't done. He slaps her and she falls to the floor. He yells at her for being weak, he claims he hadn't hit her that hard, though she's caressing her tender cheek as it begins to swell already.

The last thing I see, for no more than a few seconds, is a grave. In the yard behind the girl's house. He father stomping away from the grave with a shovel in her hand, he doesn't even need to worry about someone coming around to look for his daughter, since she had no friends. No one close enough to even ask for help from.

And I realize, this was Audra's life.

Then, all at once, she's gone. I'm back in the living room and it is dull again. I wait for a minute where I'm sitting before I jump up and run to Germany.

He's pushing himself up onto his knees, trying to stand up, "Don't you dare stand up, 'cause if you fall, you'll just make it worse!" I tell him. He stares up at me, obviously having some trouble focusing on me, but he rests himself against the wall. I run to the kitchen, on my way to the bathroom for some kind of first aid, and almost run into Canada.

"Canada! I thought you went to bed like the others."

"I heard someone yelling, are you all right?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine. I'll explain in a minute, but I have to get some kind of bandage for Germany," I tell him, then continue past him.

I wet a cloth and grab a bunch of gauze from the cupboards in the bathroom and rush back to Germany. Canada had ventured in and is kneeling next to Germany. He quickly moves out of my way and I take his place. I ease Germany's hand off his head. It's not bleeding a whole lot, but it looks like he really hit his head hard on the stand.

I dab the cloth on his wound, he winces a little, but tries his best to otherwise not give in to the pain.

After I clean it up a little, I open one of the packages of gauze and wrap it around his head. I call Canada back over and we lead Germany to one of the couches.

His eyelids are fluttering, I know he's going to fall asleep soon, "Ludwig, you can't fall asleep. You hit your head way too hard," I grab his shoulder, his eyes snap open.

"I know... I shouldn't," He yawns.

"Canada, can you go wake Italy, he'll be able to keep him awake," I ask Canada, he nods and quickly leaves the room.

"What were you doing, Ebony?" He asks. He leans against me, his head resting on my shoulder, I'm afraid he might fall asleep, but I can't move if he's comfortable like this...

"When?"

"With the ghost. It could have eaten you or made you disappear into some other dimension. I don't know..."

"I just knew she wouldn't. She just wanted a friend. You don't do that kind of thing to your friend."

"It did to us in our world."

"Because Canada wasn't embracing her."

"Do you thinks it's gone in our our world, too?"

"I don't know, maybe. I hope so. She looked so happy once I finally said yes." I rest my cheek on where his hair is, nowhere near his wound, as I think of the girl, Audra.

Italy bounces into the room, followed by Canada, then France. Italy must have woken France up by accident when Canada woke him.

"Germany! What did you do?" Italy exclaims when he sees the bandage wrapped around Germany's forehead.

"_I_ didn't do anything," He tells Italy. It's true, it was really Audra's fault he was like this.

"What happened, anyway?" Canada wonders as he sits on the other couch. Italy takes a seat next to Germany and France joins Canada.

"It was the ghost that was talking to us. I got rid of her, but first, she threw Germany across the room and he hit his head on the TV stand."

"How did you get rid of her?" Canada looks baffled.

"I agreed to be her friend. Her name was Audra. I saw a bunch of her memories and then she was gone. She literally had no friends and no one to help her, so I guess she had to stick around until she found one. That was her unfinished business that some spirits stick around to, well, finish."

"And she just disappeared?" Canada asks, I nod, "If I had known it was that easy... I something bad would've happened if I didn't get England to check it out."

"Oh, well, it's over now-" I begin to say, England rushes in, interrupting me.

"Everyone, I figured out the circle! I figured it out in some kind of dream! That ghost girl was there and she showed me!" England yells as he runs into the living room.

"Really?" Italy exclaims, "That means we can go home! I can see Romano! And Spain and Hungary!" Germany flinches at the noise which must hurt his head even more.

"Right-o! I'm going to go sketch it out on paper before I forget again!" England says and runs back out of the room.

"We're going to … go back?" Germany sits up, questioning everything that has just happened.

"Yeah, England can take you back now."

I'm going with them, there's no doubt about it. Though, I'm sad to be leaving everything behind. I may not be on great terms with my parents, but I grew up here. I have friends here. I graduated here. I have memories _here_.

I'm packing a few suit cases in my room. They all want to go back as soon as possible, they _have_ been gone for a month, or close to it, so I have to be quick.

The show might be based around World War two, but their real world is actually at the same point in time as mine, so it's not a problem for me to take my laptop and other electronics with me. Thankfully.

I pack as many clothes as I can, photo albums and yearbooks, all kinds of things from different trips and experiences, my diploma, my camera, my I-pod, my phone. It all only takes up two bags, plus my purse. Is it just me or does that seem a bit sad?

I decide to write a quick letter for my friend, Heather, she's the one still on a trip with her parents, she won't be back for a while longer. I stuff it into an envelope and grab my purse.

I've already settled it with the countries that we'll be leaving tomorrow. I have one thing I need to do before we leave.

I hop into my mom's van, by myself. Germany asked if I wanted him to go with me, but I'd rather talk to him by myself.

Before pulling out of the drive way, I push one of my favourite CD's into the player and turn the volume way up. I've got almost an hour's drive ahead of me.

I finally pull up to the apartment building where Evin lives. I pull the key out of the ignition and lock the van as I waltz up to the front door. I venture into the lobby and climb the stairs to the third floor where Evin's apartment is. I knock on the door and wait for him to answer.

The door opens, he looks at me quizzically, then realizes why I'm here, "Come on in," I follow him into the apartment, shutting the door behind me, "So, you figured it out?"

"Well, it was England really, but I do believe my actions were particularly helpful," I tell him. He nods, unsure of what else to do, "I'm going with them."

"I figured you would," He sighs. I wait for a minute, but he says nothing else.

"You're not going to object?"

"Why should I you're old enough to think for yourself. You didn't object when I left you with mom and dad. Well, not much," He grins, "As long as you think you'll be happy with them. With him."

"I will be. And if anything goes wrong, England knows how to bring me back. I can always come visit you."

He smiles, "That would be nice. Visit me whenever. I won't move anywhere else unless I've told you."

I smile, tears brimming my eyes. I won't be seeing my big brother again for a while, and I'm glad he'll give up his freedom to leave this building so I know where to find him. "By the way, I'm not telling mom and dad I'm leaving. Now you get to see what they were like when you left." I smirk at him.

"Great. Thanks. This'll be so much fun." He grimaces. I laugh and we don't say anything for a moment after that. So I step over to him for a hug.

"I'm going to miss you."

"I'll miss you, too, Ebony." We let the hug last a few minutes before we part and I have to be leaving, it's starting to get dark and I still have to drive home.

"Hey, can you give this to Heather when she gets back from her trip?" I pull the envelope out of my purse and hand it to him.

"That other anime freak?" He asks, I roll my eyes and nod.

"All right, I will."

I head for the door, he follows me and we hug again before I step out of the apartment, "I'll visit you every Christmas. Does that sound good?"

"Yes, it does."

"Okay," I smile and head down the hallway, "I'll see you at Christmas, then!"

England spent all morning drawing the circle on our drive way. When he finally allowed us outside, half the cement was covered in chalk. It looked like our playtime when we were kids crossed with _Fullmetal Alchemist_.

I carried my bags out and set them where England told me to, then stood with the others. He began chanting, working his magic and I clung to Germany's arm, terrified for my life.


	7. Chapter 7

This isn't my house. This place looks nothing like my home. But the number on it's door is the same as mine.

I was just standing in front of my home. Then there was a light, much like the one Audra made before she disappeared, I had to cover my eyes to keep myself from being blinded. Now I'm clinging to Germany's arm, still, and standing in front of another house. A house with a polar bear in it. Right in the front window. Right there.

It comes out the front door curiously. Canada rushes over to it, picks it up and rubs his face in it's soft fur.

"Who're you?" It wonders.

"I'm Canada," He replies, "And it's so good to be home!"

"Ah, so we made it back all right!" England says.

"You didn't think we would?" France exclaims.

"Well, the ghost could have given me the wrong circle or made a mistake," He shrugs.

France starts swearing at him and I can't help but laugh at them. It eases me to see them acting like they're at home and I let go of Germany's arm.

We don't waste any time getting to Europe. Within a few hours of arriving in their world, we're at the airport, preparing ourselves to get on the right planes. Germany and I are going to Berlin with Italy. The others are headed for their home countries, except America, who stayed at Canada's house.

I lean against Germany's shoulder and sleep for most of the ride. So, it's not long before he's nudging me awake and we're getting off the plane, we get our bags, then find a taxi to take us to Germany's house.

He unlocks the front door and we step inside. All the lights are on, and this seems to confuse Germany.

"Who's there?" We hear a voice. Prussia steps into the main hallway from one of the other rooms. "West! It's about time you showed up! It's been like a month! Where've you been?"

"We stayed in Canada a bit longer than we expected. I'll explain later," Germany tells him.

"Italy! Romano was looking for you a few days ago. He was pretty pissed you were ignoring him," Prussia tells the Italian.

"What?" Italy gasps, "But I wasn't ignoring him! I was on a trip! I have to go call him!" Italy rushes away from the entrance with his shoes still on. With him gone, there is no longer anything blocking Prussia's view of me and he realizes I'm here.

"Who's this?" Prussia leans against the wall, smirking at us.

"This is Ebony. She … decided to come home with us. Ebony, this is my broth- You already know who he is. Nevermind." Germany shakes his head and pulls off his shoes.

"Hi," I say shyly and extend my hand in greeting. He doesn't take it but starts chuckling madly.

"Kesesese, he finally brought a girl home!" He laughs, "Probably managed to get you pregnant, too, right?"

"Shut up, _bruder_!" Germany shouts, "It's not like that."

"All right, then," Prussia stops teasing his brother, but the devilish grin remains on his face, then follows Italy into the other room. Germany and I leave our shoes there and carry our things into the kitchen where Prussia and Italy are.

Italy is holding the phone about a foot away from his head while someone screams at him through it, "WHAT WERE YOU DOING! YOU STUPID! YOU WERE ONE FOR A WHOLE MONTH AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME ANYTHING! I WAS STUCK WITH THAT STUPID TOMATO BASTARD FOR A WHOLE MONTH!"

"I'm sorry, _fratello_! I didn't know I would be gone so long! B- But you can come over to Germany's house and we can hang out now!" Italy tried to talk over his brother as his eyes began to tear up.

"WHAT? You're at that potato loving bastard's house? You should have come here right away! What the hell were you thinking?" Romano continues to ramble even over his brother's voice.

"But, we brought a friend I want you to meet!"

"...Idiot _fratello_..." Romano sighs when he realizes what Italy said, "All right, I'll be over there soon... It'll at least be a break from Spain..." Then the line goes dead and Italy clicks the button to turn it off.

When Romano finally arrives, I'm sitting comfortably with Germany and a cup of tea in his living room. The door bell rings and Italy prances away to let his brother inside.

"Spain wanted to come so it took me a while to get rid of him..." Romano says as he enters the house.

"That's all right! But you could have brought him with you," Romano shoots Italy a deadly look, "But it's okay, you're here now." Italy leads his brother into the living room and I sit up to see him and seem less rude, "Look, _fratello_, this is Ebony! We met her while we were gone!"

"Ugh, what, are you in love or something with that potato bastard?" He turned to me with a distasteful look.

"Yes, I am, as a matter of fact." I tell him plainly.

"Why? Germans are so backwards and judgmental. I don't know why they haven't died out yet..."

"Well, I don't think so, and that's good enough for me."

"Whatever," He turns back to Italy, "So, are we going to hang out or something?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! I thought we could make some pasta for dinner and then we could all eat together!" Italy declares, proud of his idea, he drags Romano into the kitchen without him even agreeing, and they start making a ruckus right away.

"Is every night going to be as fun as how I think this one will turn out?" I ask Germany after a moment.

"I wouldn't choose that particular word, but yes," He nods and I smile at him excitedly. I made a good choice.

**/ sorry it's so short, this is pretty much the end, so I couldn't really think of much else to write after Ebony meeting Prussia, but I planned an epilogue! It'll probably be about the same length as this, if not longer, so that'll make up for the length of this one! :D**


	8. epilogue

**/ I totally forgot I was writing this! I'm so sorry guys! So here's the epilogue for those of you who still care!**

I open the door of my home, the one I have been living in with Germany for almost three years. It's been that long already. It really doesn't feel like it. But I like it here, much more so than my old home. Except, I've only seen Evin twice since I left. That's the only thing I wish was different. Maybe he'll come live here someday.

Germany should still be at work, but the kitchen lights are on for some reason. I creep down the hallway with my jacket and shoes still on.

"La- la- la," Oh, it's just Italy. He's dancing in front of the counter, singing to himself. I go back to the entryway and get rid of my coat and shoes, then join Italy in the kitchen.

"Hi Feli!" I smile at him and drop my bag and keys onto the counter.

"Oh, I didn't think you'd be home so soon!" Italy yelps when he hears me.

"Well, I didn't really need to stop anywhere on my way home. I just went grocery shopping a couple days ago."

"Yeah, I noticed, there was a lot more ingredients in the cupboards..."

"Yeah, Ludwig put a lot more stuff on the list then usual," I puzzle over it for a moment, "What are you making?"

He pauses for a moment, as if he doesn't want me to know, "...Pasta..."

"I was actually thinking I would make that for dinner tonight. I guess I don't have to now," I laugh. Italy laughs with me, but he seems a bit nervous or something, "Is there something wrong, Feli?"

"N-No! There's nothing wrong! It's just... Hey, Germany doesn't get home for a while, doesn't he?"

"No, he has to work a bit late tonight. I was going to have dinner ready for when he gets home, but you're already on that."

"Yeah, he asked me to do this for you..." Italy says as he turns back to the food on the counter, but he realizes he said something wrong, "I mean... He w- wanted to give you a break from having to cook all the time. You get to go have Ebony-time! Go! Rest or something!" He nervously shoos me from the kitchen. I don't question him, but puzzle over what was wrong as I make my way up the stairs to work on my novel.

I know Germany's home before he even enters the house. The room I write in is in the front of the house, so I see the car pull into the driveway through the window and I rush down the stairs when I see him quickly remove himself from the car to meet him at the door.

"Ebony!" He looks surprised, though I usually greet him in the doorway every day, unless I don't realize he's arrived.

"Yeah, it's me! Who else would you be expecting?"

"Uh... Well..." He seems a bit flustered, "I was expecting Italy to be here."

"He is, he's in the kitchen. He said you ask him to make dinner tonight."

"Yes, I thought you could use a break, I don't think you've been writing much lately."

"Well, I guess..."

"All right, you go write some of your novel and I'll go help Italy finish," He tells me then rushes past me to enter the kitchen. Again, I don't question either of them and return to the second floor.

I leave them alone in the kitchen for about ten minutes, then venture back downstairs. From what I can tell, dinner is ready and Germany is trying to get Italy to leave.

"But I want to be here!" Italy whines.

"No, it's just for Ebony and I. You can't stay here for dinner. Go find your brother," Germany tells him. They're being really weird. Every time Italy makes dinner here, we eat it together, and often invite Romano, Prussia, Austria and Hungary or even all of them. Even most of the nights I make dinner. The more the merrier, especially when it comes to family.

I stand on the landing between the main and second floors and watch the pair bicker until Italy finally leaves, then I climb down the rest and join Germany in the hall.

"So, I take it dinner is ready?" I ask hungrily.

"Uh... Yes, you go sit down, I'll be in with the food in a minute." He starts for the kitchen, but I follow him instead of heading for the dining room.

"I'll help you with it, Ludwig." I think he was about to object, but he lets it go. We carry the bowl of pasta and pot of sauce into the dining room and take our usual seats.

We don't say anything for a couple minutes. Usually we would be conversing at this point, even if it was just the two of us. But it looks like there's something wrong, and I'm not sure whether to ask him about it or not.

"So … How was work?" I ask him.

"Uh, how it usually is," He replies, "It made me work..." He really is acting strangely. I don't know what to say after that.

I finish what is on my plate before him. By the state of his plate, it seems as though he's lost his appetite.

"Honey, is there something wrong?" I ask, he looks up at me from his plate, but doesn't answer, "You know you can always tell me, right?"

"There's nothing wrong, Ebony," He smiles softly, making him look a bit more relaxed, "I was actually planning to ask you something later. But I think it's probably fine to ask now."

"What is it?"

He doesn't say anything, but stands up and steps over to me as he reaches into his pocket. Oh, God, I know what the question is.

Within the second he stands up, he's on one knee in front of me with a golden ring in his hand, "Will you marry me?"

I'm speechless for a moment, but it only lasts a second before I jump out of my chair to hug him, "Yes! Ludwig, of course I'll marry you! You didn't even have to ask!"

He can't help but laugh as we sit up. I think he expected my reaction to be something like that, because he had been holding onto that ring for dear life! He placed it on my left ring finger. I had to hug him again when he did.

E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E

One week. I have one week left until I walk down the isle to meet Germany in front of all our friends. Not my family, though. Only Evin is coming because we're not going to my home world just for the ceremony. It will be much more special if we begin our marriage where we will always be.

I always thought I would be doing something super important when I had only one week left. But I'm sitting in our living room with the TV on while Germany is getting his and Italy's tuxedos fitted. I'm feeling awfully useless at that point, though I planned quite a bit of the wedding with the help of some of the other countries. Though, they weren't always helpful.

I flop over on the couch and sigh. I'm not sure, but I think I just heard something. It was probably just a noise from the TV. No, wait, I hear it again. It sounds like the floor boards are creaking. And I'm not watching a horror movie or anything...

I sit up and scan the living room. There doesn't seem to be anything suspicious. I'm about to turn around to check behind the couch, into the hallway when a hand comes around my head to keep my mouth shut.

E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E

Germany steps into the living room rubbing his forehead in an attempt to get rid of his headache. It takes him a moment to realize the television is on, but Ebony is nowhere in sight.

"Ebony?" He calls out into the empty house.

He notices a small piece of paper on the couch. He picks it up and glances over the words.

If you want to marry her, you'll have to find her.

Your All Awesome Bruder

Oh, and France, America, England and Evin

"I should have been expecting that..." Germany moaned. He's surprised Prussia didn't do this earlier. Now he's going to have to go from club to club looking for his brother and fiancee, "If I have to pay the tab, I'm going to shoot Prussia." Germany goes to the kitchen to find the phone to call the only man there was to help him.

The phone rang twice before someone answered the phone, "Italy? We have to go find Ebony in one of the clubs."

"Oooh, they finally kidnapped the bride?" Italy asks excitedly.

"Yes..." Germany sighs.

"All right. I'll be at your house in a few minutes!" Italy says and the line goes dead.

E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E

I'm sitting along the counter in some random club, surrounded by my brother, my soon-to-be-brother-in-law and England. America and France are dancing somewhere on the dance floor with a couple of girls.

"Hey, are you here with somebody?" Some guy waltzes up to me. It's not like I have two guys sitting right beside me.

"No, she's waiting for my brother, who she's going to marry in a week," Prussia interjects.

"Whatever," The guy scowls at Prussia and walks away to find another girl. I chuckle slightly as he walks away then turn to Prussia when he's about to speak again.

"You're probably the only chance for me to be an uncle someday. Gotta make sure nothing happens."

E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E

"Ebony?! Ebony!" Germany yells as he and Italy make their way through the second club.

"I don't think she's here either..." Italy sighs as he scans the club, "And why do you keep yelling her name? She's not going to come. It's like Hide and Seek."

Germany groans, "All right, where's the next bar?" He rubs his forehead tiredly, "We're going to be up all night doing this."

"Come on!" Italy grabs Germany's wrist and leads him out of the bar, back into the cool evening air.

E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E

"Jeez, Ebony, get up and dance will ya?" America nudges my arm. He's been drifting away and back to me constantly for the past hour, mostly trying to get me on my feet.

"What if Ludwig finds me and gets the wrong idea?!"

"And if he dumps you just because of that, we'll know he really is an idiot. Come on! You gotta at least dance with me!"

I smile, it's getting harder and harder to resist these guys, they're practically my family now, and they're what I'll have for the rest of my life. There's no way Ludwig can blame me for dancing with my family. America sees he's broken through and takes my hand, pulling me away from the bar, onto the dance floor. All the guys I'm with are giving it their all out there, it was really entertaining to watch from the bar, but it's even better to be in on it. The reception after the wedding is going to be pretty interesting.

E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E

Fifth pub of the night. Italy is still somehow full of energy. Usually by this time, he'd be knocked out cold, but the whole Hide and Seek thing is exciting to him. It's a good thing, too, Germany would have had a lot of trouble with the task if he were all on his own.

Italy melted into the new crowd quickly, dancing with any girl that would. Germany, on the other hand, barged through the crowd, looking Ebony. He emerged from the thicket of bodies to find a bartender pouring out a couple drinks for a customer. Germany approaches the bar to say what he has repeated at least fifty times already.

"Excuse me, have you seen a girl around here? About this tall, long black hair, pale, possibly wearing glasses, I think she was wearing a purple shirt."

"I see a lot of girls about this tall with black hair and pale skin, okay?" The bartender tells him with a very unfriendly attitude.

"All right, thank you anyway." Germany sighs and drifts away from the bar to find Italy.

E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E – E

"Okay, what if he doesn't find me?" I ask Prussia. I play with the alcohol in my glass, head propped up by my hand while Prussia takes a quick sip of his beer.

"Come on, it's West. He won't give up until he finds you."

"But we've been here for almost three hours."

"And he's worked longer for much less." Prussia pats my shoulder as he slides off the stool. _Hetalia_ seems to put too much emphasis on characteristics that just completely wipe away the rest of a personality. It's not always about his inflated ego for Prussia.

"Ebony!" The shout jolts me out of my thoughts, I spin around to face the dance floor. I see Italy, and next to him is Germany. I leave my drink behind and rush over to the pair. Germany starts into a fast gait and catches me in the air, mid stride. He kisses me on my forehead, and I cling to his body.

He chuckles at me, "I guess we're really ready for this, then," He says when I refuse to let go.

"Yeah, yeah we are."

**/ I read somewhere that the kidnapping of the bride was a tradition in Germany where the groom had to go from pub to pub looking for his bride to be, sooo review and tell me what you thought! **


End file.
